SpaceX—SpaceX developed radio beam-steering techniques with NSF and NRAO to reduce interference with radio telescopes
In August 2024, SpaceX announced new techniques developed with the National Science Foundation and National Radio Astronomy Observatory to help radio astronomers. The system redirects or disables Starlink satellite transmissions when they pass over sensitive telescopes including the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia. However, researchers still found Starlink emitting unintended radio signals in protected astronomy frequencies, affecting up to 30% of telescope images.
Scoring Impact
| Topic | Direction | Relevance | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orbital Environment | +toward | primary | +1.00 |
| Overall incident score = | +0.429 | ||
Score = avg(topic contributions) × significance (medium ×1) × confidence (0.57)× agency (reactive ×0.75)
Evidence (1 signal)
SpaceX developed radio beam-steering with NSF and NRAO to redirect transmissions away from telescopes
SpaceX announced new techniques developed with the National Science Foundation and NRAO to steer radio beams away from sensitive telescopes including the Green Bank Telescope. However, researchers still found unintended radio emissions in protected frequencies affecting 30% of images.